modprobed_dbAUR keeps a running list of ALL modules ever probed on a system and allow for easy recall. This is very useful for users wishing to build a minimal kernel via a `make localmodconfig`which simply takes every module currently probed and switches everything BUT them off in the .config for a kernel resulting in smaller kernel packages and reduced compilation times.

Installation and Setup

Edit /etc/modprobed_db.conf and optionally add some modules to ignore to the IGNORE array. Some common ones are included by default.

Usage

Data Collection

The most convenient method to "use" modprobed_db is to simply add an entry in the root user's crontab to invoke /usr/bin/modprobed_db store at some regular interval.

Example running the script once every 20 minutes:

# crontab -e
*/20 * * * * /usr/bin/modprobed_db store &> /dev/null

Data Recall

As mentioned earlier, this script is meant to be used in concert with the make localmodconfig step of compiling a kernel. After the database has been adequately populated, simply invoke /usr/bin/modprobed_db recall prior to compiling a kernel to load all modules followed by the make localmodconfig to do the magic.

Using the Official ARCH kernel PKGBUILD

The official ARCH kernel's PKGBUILD does not have native support for this, but it is easily modified as follows:

...
# get kernel version
make prepare
/usr/bin/modprobed_db recall <---- insert this line
make localmodconfig <---- insert this line
# load configuration
# Configure the kernel. Replace the line below with one of your choice.
#make menuconfig # CLI menu for configuration
#make nconfig # new CLI menu for configuration
#make xconfig # X-based configuration
#make oldconfig # using old config from previous kernel version
# ... or manually edit .config
...

Using Some Kernels in the AUR

Several kernel packages in the AUR have native support for modprobed_db in their PKGBUILD files.
For example:

Note: The server pkgbuild.com is rather slow and the git clone can take a while. You will be pulling down over 1.1 GB of data.

Recommendations

It is recommended that users install the package and then "use" the system for a good amount of time to allow the database to grow based on usage and capture everything the system needs before building a kernel with a make localmodconfig. Some suggested actions to allow appropriate modules to load and get cataloged:

Insert every kind of removable media (USB, DVD, CD, etc.)

Use every device on the machine (wifi, network, USB stuff like cameras, ipods, etc.)